SnapHeal for Mac ($14.99) is here to save your photographs, and it does a fine job of it. It’s main feature is to remove unwanted elements – whether they be unsightly marks on your face, tears and degradation in old scan, or even entire people you just don’t want in the shot. The software has to be seen to be believed.

This week, we’ll be giving away 25 copies of Snapheal for Mac worth $375 in total. If you’re interested in grabbing a free copy, read on and join the giveaway.

Erase

Sometimes, there are bits of the photograph we just wish weren’t there. That awkward “No photography allowed” sign; the dog relieving itself while you pose for your wedding shots; or the funny-looking tourist that wandered into your perfect sunset – life isn’t perfect, but Snapheal can deal with them all.

Simply paint over the area of the image to be erased using a variable width brush – no fiddly pencil-thin selection tools needed here – and SnapHeal will work its magic to remove the object and fill in the gaps. It’s a similar feature to Adobe PhotoShop’s content-aware healing, but at a price anyone can afford. This video from the developers demonstrates just how powerful the tool is:

There are three eraser modes which you can choose depending on the type or size of object being removed. SnapHeal explains these well in the app, each being suited to either removing a large object, many small objects, or spot healing.

Not convinced? I tried it out for myself.

This is inside the People’s Palace in Beijing. Here, I removed a few people, a snack stand, my camera clip, and even a pesky smaller temple on the skyline.

Perhaps even more dramatic – a photo of my wife and I taken on top of Kyoto Station – and yes, I actually removed her from the shot, so please don’t tell her. I didn’t think this was possible, but I’d say the results are pretty amazing.

Clone and Stamp

Cloning allows you to copy a part of the image you want to keep, over to a part you don’t want. It’s a little like copy/paste, but as a brush.

Retouching

There’s also a selection of retouch brushes. Choose the effect you’re after, and paint it onto the area for subtle improvements in colour or clarity. In this example, as well as removing the ropes from one of our wedding photos, I added more colour to our faces (I’m pretty sure we’re not really that pale!) and tidied up elsewhere.

Snapheal can do some amazing things, and it’s an affordable tool to have on your Mac that compliments iPhoto nicely. You can share to various web services from directly within the app, and it has everything you’d expect from a competent photo editor – as well the incredibly powerful erase tool that you’d only expect to find in top of the range ‘professional‘ products. Snapheal is the essential photo tool for the rest of us.

Congratulations! If you were selected as a winner, you would have received your license via email from jackson@makeuseof.com. If you require any assistance, please get in touch with jackson@makeuseof.com before April 15. Enquires beyond this date will not be entertained.

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James has a BSc in Artificial Intelligence, and is CompTIA A+ and Network+ certified. He's the lead developer of MakeUseOf, and spends his free time playing VR paintball and boardgames. He's been building PCs since he was a kid.